The Prisoner of Freedom
by Chiyon Shi
Summary: Lavi knew that something is his world was missing... He had no purpose for living. He only dreamed of the sky and flying. Then it all changed, with a small visit of the Spirit of the Sky. B-day fic for Moon-Dash.


**Disclaimer:** Don't own and never will.

**Full summary: **Lavi knew that something is his world was missing... He had no purpose for living. He only dreamed of the sky and flying. Then it all changed, with a small visit of the Spirit of the Sky. B-day fic for Moon-Dash.

**Warnings: **Alternate Universe, serious talk?

**Pairings: **None.

**Happy birthday, Moon-chan! I cannot give you anything else as a present, so here's a small ficcu :D**

* * *

I've always wondered how it would feel like. Flying, that is. That sense of freedom, your wings guiding you safely into the blue sky and birds keeping you company on your long journeys. Such a mysterious feeling, I think it would be. Such a perfect peace no one has yet to achieve.

I lazily stare into the vast ocean above me. Nothing I have is similar to that beauty. My red hair, clashing against the blue while my green eyes trying to search for a way to look deeper into it; my slightly tanned skin, that warm glow of it is so different from the coldness of the sky above me. I know that, I don't belong there. I don't belong to the sky like all those birds, all those free souls.

I'm just an author without inspiration; a person who is chained by deadlines and other people's expeditions.

I sigh again as I look above me, a soft wistful smile playing on my lips. If only my muse would be like that sky; open and always eager to show its wonders to everyone. If only.

I sat up and stretch a little, ready to leave this peaceful sanctuary of mine. Ready to face the reality that I cannot get anything done. Ready to meet my best friends' disappointed faces when I tell them that I still haven't gotten anything done. I'm ready.

If only.

* * *

Bright pale orbs followed the redhead as he descended from his haven to the world so unlike that place. He had done that so many times, days turned to weeks, which had slowly become months and then years. Over and over again that redhead came there, stared into the blue wonder and stalk away after a while. And always, he had watched over him like many others along these many centuries. The person floated to the ground from the tree he had resided at and stared as the other one disappeared from his sight. He tilted his head, a small frown plastered to his face before smiling.

He had found him, the person thought with joy.

He would be the one he could show the Wonders of the World.

* * *

Next day I go back to the haven of mine. Everything's the same, but still so very different… Just like always. I look at the sky, admiring the white sheep that are floating in the fields of blue. They are playing their own tricks to the people below by twisting themselves into different shapes so everyone could play those games of guessing with them. I love those white wanderers. They are always keeping me company.

Like those birds. Sometimes I've gotten really close to them before they are scared away, a couple of times they've even rest on my unmoving arm. They and clouds, both so dear to me, both like my best friends. That girl, so much like a fluffy and kind cloud with her long pigtails and boy with a high ponytail, like an arrogant, but free bird, never letting anyone command him.

I wonder what I would be, if they are clouds and birds. What else is there? I wonder for a moment, before shaking my head. A sad though pops into my mind and I can't help but agree with it. Perhaps I don't belong to the sky with them at all.

_Perhaps I'm doomed to stay as a slave for the earth and its chains._

_Perhaps… I have no purpose of living like they have._

_My cloud and bird._

"Oh, I doubt that," a voice says from above me and I quickly look up. I can only see a small bird on the branch of the tree. Closing my eyes, I chuckle to myself. Stupid of me, of course birds can't talk…

"Are you there, mister?" the same voice asks from me and I felt, rather than saw, a shadow over me. I snapped my eyes open and see a wonder itself above me.

A boy, no older than fifteen, stood there. He had this strange face you wouldn't see on every other person; a scar so red it resembled blood, hair like the purest snow, eyes like the hazy clouds I yearn to be with. He was… No, he wasn't an angel, it was sappy. And I don't do sappy. But, he was something close. Really close.

He had to be.

"Yes… I'm here," I say before blinking stupidly. Here I am, speechless like I was facing a God or something. I flash a grin to my face. "And what does a pipsqueak like you do here too?"

"What's a pipsqueak?" He just asks, ignoring my question with his own. His grey eyes look at me like I had said something strange. I can't help but laugh.

"How cute," I just state, ignoring his question in return. He pouts a bit before the same smile from before comes back with full force.

"May I ask your name, mister?" I reply with a smile of my own.

"Only if you give me yours." The boy shrugs.

"They've called me many things, but lately I've been known as Allen." How annoyingly mysterious answer, evading as hell. This game can be played by two players, dear 'Allen'.

"I've been named 'Lavi' by my editor and have become known by that through the world."

"Oh?" he looks at me with curious orbs. "Are you famous?"

"World-known author, one of the best." The boy nodded.

"What do you write about?"

"Mystery, fantasy, reality… Whatever inspires me? I'm free like that."

"Free?" Allen questions me. I nod. "I thought you said you were chained to this world, like a caged bird." My eyes quickly lose their shine as they narrow warningly.

"Have you been stalking me?" the boy tilts his head again.

"What does 'stalking' mean?" I'm sure that by now my eyes hold a look of disbelief in them. At least that's how I feel at the moment.

"If a person watches another without the one knowing for uncountable times and following them around, it's called stalking." I don't know why I elaborated, but by the look on the other's face, he clearly understood the meaning just now.

"Oh… Well, I guess somehow I am?" he laughs softly. "But in that case, it's you who are stalking and not me."

"What do you mean?" I ask and he continues smiling in that strange heartwarming way.

"I'm always here when you come and always when you leave and the time between. You're the one who comes and goes, just watching… Watching me."

"You? But I only met you today!" I exclaim and stand up, absently noting that the boy is at least a head shorter than I am.

"That's true too," he agrees and I don't understand anything anymore. Who's stalking who at the moment? Him me or me him?

Allen turns to look at the blue ocean above and I slowly follow his lead. We stare into the vast blueness in silence and I had almost forgotten his presence, if he only had stayed silent.

"Is that where you yearn to be?" he asks me. This is a very personal subject to me, but even if he might be a stalker, I feel like I can tell him. And I do.

"Yes…"

"Sky means many things for many people. What does it resemble for you?" I don't need to wonder it even one moment.

"Freedom," I state and I can sense him nodding. "Sky is… There's so many things, nothing to hide, nothing to fear. It has always been there, always will. It connects us from here to there. Think of it. Faraway countries, like Finland and Vietnam. They have almost nothing in common, but there is the sky. It is the same. Just like the stars, sun and moon. It is also possible that the clouds in there have travelled from back and forth between the lands.

"And it's beautiful. More beautiful than I had ever thought something could be and that's how it will stay. Beautiful. Lovely. Forever, till the Earth stops existing… And maybe even longer."

I'm still staring into the sky and sigh. Maybe, just maybe…

If only…

"I knew I had met the right person," the white-haired boy beside me states and snaps my attention back to him. He was looking directly at me, strangely serious expression on his face, despite the smile. His eyes showed coldness and warmth at the same time and… And…

"I can show you the wonders; I can teach you to understand. I can make you see how you're affecting everything, the sky; I can tell you how you belong there as well…"

"What are you talking about?" I ask with bemusement. "I'm not following you!"

He stops. He stares at me before his eyes soften again. Like an old man telling something to their grandchildren. So kind…

Then he extends his hand.

"Come, Lavi!" he calls me and his voice is so clear and childlike that a smile tugs automatically to my lips. "Let me show you! Come, come!"

"Show me what?" I ask, but he just smiles.

"Come, come!" he urges me and a thought flashes to my mind. A lot of strange things have already happened… with that boy. Why not some more too?

"I'll come," I say and something inside me moves, screaming about a waiting ending.

I take his hand.

And then it all flashes in front of my eyes, like a dream.

* * *

Allen smiled as Lavi took his hand and didn't waste a second. They had all the time in the world, but still so little… There was so much to show, to teach, to learn…

Maybe it would be enough.

Maybe… Maybe Lavi understands.

He just had to show him the Wonders… and he would know.

Allen was sure of it.

* * *

I suddenly feel a lot of things, around my body, around my mind… Changing me, calling me, challenging me. Allen, he still hasn't let go of my hand I think he might not even do that. He smiles at me, tells me that it will be alright… and then, he starts to float.

And I'm floating with him.

He pulls me with him, up towards the blue ocean and we are…

We are flying.

It's like a dream. Like I've always dreamed. That sense of freedom I've always missed, I know how it feels now. I know why birds are always in the air if they can be. I love it. I love this feeling. It's more than I could've ever hoped for.

We are flying beside each other, hand in hand, above the city I've lived for years. I suddenly blink and my muscles tense. What if they see us?! What would they say, feel? Would it be all over the news, would it be called magic, would it…?

_No one can see us, Lavi,_ I hear from beside me, or inside my head, and Allen looks at me reassuringly. _Please, do not be so tense. It's making my job harder._

What job, I want to ask, but no words are coming from my mouth. I open it, but nothing happens. My other, free hand, touches my neck and I can only wonder where my voice has gone.

_Do not worry, Lavi, I can hear your thoughts._ I blink in surprise. Huh…?

_It's not your body in the air, like you think… It's your soul_, he explains in my mind. _I took your soul out of your body to fly with me. I have so much to show you, but so little time… If only you weren't living, we could have every moment in the world, but your body cannot handle being without soul for too long. And it would kill the purpose if you were dead._

What do you mean? I form the question in my mind and he nods in approval.

_I knew you would understand the way we can talk quickly. Lavi, I've chosen you to see the Wonders of World that only I can show you. I hope you're ready… Since I'm not letting you go, until you understand._

Understand what? Why have you chosen me?

_Why? Because you love the sky,_ Allen states like it explains it all. But I don't. I know I can absorb knowledge like a sponge, the only thing that Lenalady resents me for, but this isn't natural. I snort to myself. Of course this isn't natural. My soul is out of my body and travelling with… With who?

Who are you Allen?

_I'm a Spirit of the Sky, prisoner of freedom, _the boy says and elaborates as he meets my confused thoughts.

_When the World was young, there were many different powers around. Primal Might, they called us. Seven for the seven seas, even though they located differently than now. Five for the solid earth, creating a place for creatures to live. Eight for the powerful fire, locked in below the earth to keep everything moving… And finally, three for the loving air, containing the power of life within itself._

Are you one of those powers? I ask quietly as the boy… Or Spirit, should I call him, continued to fly towards our unknown destination.

_Yes. I'm one of the few still existing. From the seven of the Seas, three still takes care of the waters… The reason they are slowly dying. From the five of Lands, all still exists, but two of them are being molded within the hidden fires under. From the eight of the Volcanoes, five continues to burn._

And from the air?

_I'm the sole survivor._ I feel it, the sadness. The feeling of being alone. That loss of your only kind, knowing that you'll never see them again… Like when I lost my parents and my grandfather took me in. It's the same, though with Allen… This pain seems like it has been there since ancient times, subdued in order to stay sane.

_Ah, we are here_.I look down and see… a rainforest. One of the last ones on earth. I've read that once there were many more, but nowadays… Only a small part of them still exist. It is sad, especially since they are the 'lungs of the Earth'… Now that I look down more clearly, I can tell that not all of that is forest and savanna near it… No, is that a felling I see?! Wait a minute…

There is a special reason I was brought here, isn't there?

_Yes,_ Allen confirmed. _As you stated earlier, they are the main reason air is being created. One of the reasons. Of course, I have to help them a bit, as well as Spirits of the Seas and Spirits of the Lands… But they create it themselves._

_Do you know the reason they, these forests, are dying?_

I don't have to even think. That felling already told everything.

Right?

_Correct,_ an affirmation came with a hint of sadness. _Your kind has cut down the trees for their fields and materials. These forests are a treasure we have created for you… a treasure that can never be created again if completely destroyed once. Nothing can be ever again if destroyed. No trees, no animals, no humans. Nothing._

_Rainforests are one of the Wonders of the World… As is our next destination._

_Come, Lavi._

Saying that, I felt a small tug and I was being dragged away again, to other direction. I felt the flying sensation, the freedom, but in a way… It was a slightly tainted with all… this. I knew humans were selfish, but to see it with my own eyes is quite different experience.

I wonder where he'll be taking me now…

We fly for a while, thoughts filling my mind while I enjoy the air on my face. I feel like I'm part of the air, like Allen seems to be… A Spirit of the Sky, I wonder what that really means.

For some reason, he doesn't answer to my question; even though I'm sure he picked it up from my mind. He just flies in silence, eyes straight forward and clear like the air around us. Well, or course, air is his element…

I think I recognize a structure below us as we speed past it. The Great Wall of China… Finally, I know where we are at the moment. As it disappears, I'm pretty sure that we are heading towards north. I'm not feeling any changes in climate, but as the trees change to look more like spruces than the southern ones, I'm pretty sure I know where we are heading to, if Allen's going to keep showing me similar things…

_You catch up fast, Lavi._

Like I expected, we arrive near the glacier near the North Pole. We float above it and I can see ice and snow, more than I have ever seen before in my life. White, so much white and it's so bright under the sun. There are also those white bears I've only seen on the zoos. One of them, a small cub, was following a taller, bigger one… Possibly its mother. I watch them, but suddenly, the glacier started to crumble. I watch in horror as I see the ice rip apart and the cub fall down…

Down towards the sea.

I only feel a small breeze as Allen dived down with haste. It happens so quickly as when I blink my eyes, it is already over. Allen, transparent as ever, was holding the cub on his arms. The small animal was panicking, it only seeing clear air in front of it. Floating up, the boy sets the cub down near its parent and soon, they are together again, mother checking if her child is safe.

I notice slowly that I am shaking. I'm not sure, whether it is from anger, frustration, helplessness or what…

But I just am.

And I feel pain.

Allen watches the two for a moment, before he snaps his eyes back to me. In a second, he's beside me again and taking me by my hand and the pain disappears. He looks apologetic, like he's feeling very sorry.

_I shouldn't have left you alone,_ he says quietly and I feel another breeze against my cheek, caringly. _You've weakened, too much… Too much and cut down our time…_

What do you mean?

_I've been leaking my own power to your soul slightly to help it keep functioning with my touch… _So that's why he has held my hand the whole time… _…And with my haste, I forgot all about you. Now, you've used a lot of your energy with keeping your soul alive. Even if only for a minute or two, that feels like days for your soul._

_And I had so much else to show you…_

How much time we still have? I ask him, knowing that this is important. Not only for him, but now for me too. I don't know why, but this touches me deeply. It is like… Like I've finally gotten a grip on something; something I really want to do.

It is strange… After all, this all feels like a dream.

Maybe it's that I feel it…

Feel the air.

Feel Allen's emotions.

See what happens and is happening all this time.

_Maybe an hour or so… we must hurry. I know I won't be able to show you everything now, but…_

A life is more important. Allen smiled at this.

_Yes. And I'm sure you'll understand._

You've been talking about understanding a lot. What should I understand?

_Many things,_ the spirit states as he starts to fly with me again and soon the glacier has been left behind. _You have an open mind, Lavi, as well as a desire of knowing the sky. I can grand you that. I can grant you your wish, about having a purpose, of having a place in the sky… As you've named your own friends as beings of above._

_I can grant you a place with them._

I… Don't honestly know what to say to that. He's giving me something I've always wanted… Since I noticed my lack of freedom. I wonder; there has to be a catch. He wouldn't have taken me flying, shown me things, told me things if there wasn't.

_Unfortunately, you're right,_ Allen admits. _There is a catch._

What is it?

_As the last Spirit of the Sky, there is a certain task that only I can do now. I want to ensure, that if I was going to die too, I would have a successor in a way. I've spoken to the other Spirits… we are dangerously walking towards our destruction. You have no idea how hard it is to not disappear into just thin air…_

_No pun indented._

Why are you dying? Is it because of us humans too? I ignore his attempt to use humor to lighten the mood. He sighs and nods.

_When you are killing the nature, you are killing us with it. Global warming, you're familiar with it, aren't you?_ I nod. _Well, basically, your industrialization caught us by surprise. It took my friend with so quickly that we couldn't even react. She was one of my kinds. My friend._

_Soon, followed Spirits of the Seas. They were so easily corrupted and with them gone, the sea currents like the Gulf Stream are in danger of moving to other direction and causing troubles for your people. The Spirits of the Volcanoes were safer below the earth, but they were affected too and continued to die. The Spirits of the Lands are still coping, but two of them are in the verge of disappearing because you have forced them to the pit of the fires below._

_And then… Then my last friend was gone; gone because of the destruction you're causing to our atmosphere._

But you still want to help, don't you? I ask and stare at him. This all has made me quiet. I'm contemplating all this knowledge… I thought I knew how wrong humans were, but with this perspective…

_When I discussed about this with other Primal Might, we all agreed that something must be done. I'm beginning to disappear too… I've noticed how I've been getting weaker and weaker. And it is a bad thing, for you and me, for other Primal and whole World._

Why?

_If I disappear… So does the atmosphere._

I stare at him with wide eyes. That would mean complete annihilation of humankind!

_Yes it would… And also, for other Primal too. Water is made from oxygen and hydrogen, both which I keep hold on. Earth would survive, but it would alone without its plants and animals. Fire…_

Fire burns with using air. Allen nods solemnly.

_True._

But there is one thing I don't understand, I state. And I'm sure you know what.

_Why you?_

Exactly.

_Like I said, you wanted this kind of freedom. I'm ready to give it to you. I can make you one of my kinds, to help support this World… But that price would be heavy; your humanity and eternal life in servitude for the ones destroying us._

Silence falls around us again. This is huge. Just this morning, I thought everything was going to be normal. A normal day without achieving anything.

But it seems that I was wrong.

It seems… Like I could achieve a little too much.

And I can't help but wonder…

What would happen if I said no?

_I would die some day, sooner or later, and with me everything else. And before you ask, Lavi, I don't believe I have time to wait for someone else like you. You wanted to become connected with your Cloud and Bird; I'm offering you to become their Air._

With this said, I don't believe I could ever say no, no matter if I wanted to.

I cannot let Kanda and Lenalee die.

_You might get them to stay with you… _Allen says quietly. He seems to know, that he's forcing me into this, but he also seems determined to do it well. _The amount of Spirits for every Might is standard. It cannot change. For air, that is three… And when I'm gone, you could change them yourself and be together with them… Work together to protect this World._

It would be a prison of freedom.

_Yes… It would,_ Allen agrees quietly. _But that is what must be done._

I'm starting to feel numb… I'm not sure if it's because of all this or something else. When I mention it to the Spirit, he seems alarmed.

_Your soul and body have been too long away from each other. I was going to take you to the coral reefs I find so beautiful, but we do not have time anymore._

_I'm taking you back, now._

Does… That mean I do not have to go with you right away?

_Yes, I'm giving you time. This isn't an absolute choice either._

I have a choice?

_If… _Allen hesitates for a moment. _If the global warming stops and you can stop humans from destroying the World more, then you do not have to become a Primal._

How much time that would take? And how much time do you have?

_The time I have depends solely on how long humans continue to ignore the warnings… That applies for the other one too. If you can get them to realize, that this ignoring doesn't work for them, then you've done your job already._

_If not… I'll have to come and collect you before I'll be gone._

Approximately…?

_More than ten years, less than hundred. I cannot say anything closer. If they ignore the warnings any longer, I'll disappear forever._

I see that familiar tree that I'm so used to lie under and stare at the sky… I cannot ever look it with same eyes again. My body is still there, looking like it was sleeping.

_You are a writer, you have power of words. Use it, Lavi. You have a gift to use._

He lets go of me when I touch my body and my soul fuses with it. I feel dizzy, a bit sick, but I'm still trying to stand up, to look at the Spirit.

"Hush, Lavi… You're still a human. This experience was bound to exhaust you," I hear Allen's voice tell me. "Your friends are soon here… I'll be going now."

"Wait!" I yell, or try to. My voice is barely louder than whisper, but Allen seems to hear it. He turns back to me, a small smile on his face.

"I'll be here tomorrow, the day after that and so on. When you feel like talking to me, or wanting something, be it knowledge or help, I'll be here. Just call me from here. I'm sure the wind will send me your message.

"Save your World, Lavi… Save it as a small human you are, so you do not have to suffer the same fate as my friends… Or me."

With that, he disappears and I close my eyes.

It has been a harsh day.

* * *

Allen watched as Lavi's friends came to look for him and as the man took the redhead into his back when he couldn't stand up. He knew that Lavi would do his best, with his Cloud and Bird beside him.

"You were lying to him, dear," a voice next to him said quietly. The boy turned to look at Hevlaska, one of the Spirits of the Seas. "You know that no humans can be turned to a Primal… We are ancient and when we disappear, no one can replace us. You said so yourself."

"But it did give him a nice scare, didn't it?" the pale Spirit smiled. "He's now going to do his best so neither he or his friends should suffer this faith. He's going to stop this all, I just know it. He tasted the flying; he's part of the Air already… And when he dies, from old age, he'll become the wind that moves clouds and carries birds to their destination."

"You are cruel Allen… But yet so kind."

"I know."

* * *

I stare into the distance past Kanda's shoulder. I know that I've missed something important, but somehow, it doesn't seem to matter.

I have a World to save, after all.

* * *

**AN:** It turned out more serious than I thought it would. It was supposed to be a heartwarming fic about flying and dreams, but turned out to be a lecture of global warming (can you see that I feel strongly about the subject?) and other disasters we create all the time.

But still, this is my gift for my darling friend, Moon-Dash. I hope you enjoyed! Sorry, that it ended up not being so cheerful I intended!

Love,

Chiyon Shi.


End file.
